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2001The World Wrestling Federation,now World Wrestling Entertainment,purchases rival organization WorldChampionship Wrestling for an estimated $7 million.

The Leaning Tower of Pisareopens to the public after a$27 million investment tofortify the structure withoutfixing its famous lean.

You were fortunate to play in a lot ofcities during your career; what wasyour favorite as a player? As far as thefan base, it has to be St. Louis. I re-ally enjoyed my time in Colorado,but St. Louis is the first town I everwent to and knew baseball was king.You look in the windows and doors atrestaurants and they had a red bird

there. It’s the first town I’ve ever been to where baseball is their numberone sport.

Who are some of your best friends in baseball? Raul Ibanez, LuisCastillo, Ronnie Belliard and many others. I have a lot of good friendsin the game.

Funniest teammate you ever had? Mark Sweeney, a teammate of minewith the Rockies

As a broadcaster for the Miami Marlins now, you’re around the game ona daily basis. Who are some of your favorite current players to watch?Andrew McCutchen, Didi Gregorious. I like watching Justin Verlanderpitch—glad I don’t have to face him. And I like watching Todd Heltonbecause I feel like there’s still hope!

How was your transition from playing to the broadcasting industry? It’sbeen fun for me to be engaged in the game. There are some really goodkids who keep coming out and it is fun to watch. The biggest thing Ialways make sure to keep in mind is when I talk about today’s play-ers, not to be too easy or too hard on them. I try to focus on talkingabout the game; I never make any personal statements about whether Ilike a player or not, I try to focus on the game. That makes my jobeasier and I feel more comfortable giving my honest opinions that way.

Speaking as an analyst, how have you seen the game change since yourdebut in 1998? I think there has been a whole evolution in cross-train-ing. I think that’s good in a sense, but I also think some guys are over-training and not giving their bodies enough time to recover. In theoffseason, I think some players don’t give their bodies enough time torecuperate after a long season. One rash of injuries I’ve noticed is ab-dominal injuries—something I rarely saw when I played: obliques andabdominal muscles. Guys are over-training their cores and it’s cost-ing them time on the field.

What was your experience playing and recovering at altitude? You haveto understand what happens to your body at altitude. You have todrink more water. You can’t be out all night. You have to understandthat if you’re someone who likes beer or wine, you have to consume itonly in small amounts because your body is going to react differently

to it. It’s just a matter of understanding how to prepare and what sac-rifices need to be made to do your job. That’s it: drink more water, getmore rest. Then, when the offseason comes around, it’s different, butduring the season, it has to be all business.

What was it like learning the game from your stepfather and former bigleaguer Mookie Wilson? The biggest thing is I got to see baseball playedat the Major League level when I was very young, so I got to see the rightway to play early on. I got to see guys who worked hard and dedicatedthemselves to their jobs, even when it wasn’t during the season. Thatwas a big advantage.

Do you have any kids who are the next Wilson big leaguers? I have adaughter, but she’s really the brains in the family.

In 1997, you made a voyage to play in Australia. How was that experi-ence? Back when I was playing there, baseball was just starting tocatch on. You could tell there were a lot of things that were different interms of understanding the game. One time, for instance, in the firstcity I went to, the home team was wearing gray jerseys with whitepants. But that made me realize, it doesn’t really matter what youwear; you’re on the field and that’s what matters. Something smalllike that helped me realize that it’s not important to worry about littlethings you can’t control, things that don’t matter for your progress asa player or your learning of the game. The game is still the same.

Talk about that 2003 season with the Rockies, a year in which you werean All-Star and won the National League RBI crown. That year reallylet me have a glimpse of what it’s like to play on a team that has alineup around me that was a fully-formed lineup. I had been in line-ups before that had a little bit of talent, but never before with guys likeTodd Helton, Larry Walker, Ronnie Belliard and others, a lot of guyswho were having success at the same time. What I did was just mypart of the equation and I’m thankful for them giving me the opportu-nity to do that.

Speaking of playing with good players and on good teams, what does itmean to have that World Series ring with your name on it as a memberof the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals? It means a lot. Everybody plays tocompete at the highest level. When you look back at your career, youwant to feel like, at every stage you’ve played at, you got to the top ofthat level. When it comes to the Major League level, it’s pretty specialto know I was part of something so special that, at one point in time, Iwas on the best team in the world—the best team on the planet. Guys Iknow who have had long careers but have never gotten there, they talkabout that and want to know what it feels like. It’s something youcan’t really explain, you just have to experience it and be part of it. v